A Pirate Adventure
by dooder's nin
Summary: Along the coast of the American shore were tales of pirates and their adventures. So Alfred really can't resist taking the opportunity to enlist one of the former pirates for help when a party for the personifications happens to be in a spot rumored to have buried treasure. And discoveries surrounding a little more about said pirates is another accomplishment; and of course, rum...


It was a bright sunny day, with a comfortable breeze that drifted in from over the ocean toward the party that had gathered on the shore and beach. There was plentiful food and there were several people simply lounging about to take advantage of the moment of rest, blankets out on the beach to act as tanning beds. Very few were actually quiet, voices carrying from the multiple conversations that were going on between the numerous personifications that had gathered for this party. Arthur wandered from one group to the other, doing his best to avoid Francis and his suggestions that everyone make themselves more comfortable by simply shedding their restrictive clothing and enjoying the cool waters. The Italy brothers had already shed their shirts and were part of the group that had opted for sunbathing, Antonio also partaking in the relaxing atmosphere alongside Greece and Turkey who were also reclining in chairs along the edge of the beach. Music was also floating over the group of nations, some of them dancing in time to the rhythm – or as much as they could with the inevitable arguments that would come up despite the lighter atmosphere.

It was not that often they would meet without a specified purpose other than a social gathering, but at Britain's insistence and planning, it looked to all be playing out well. The personifications were given the usual amount of warning that the rocks a little off shore merited, which created little tidepools and other areas that the smaller personifications had been drawn to as they captured their attention. Most had already shown up, but Arthur continued to periodically look around for the one personification that should have had no problem finding the place. As much as he'd have preferred to have hosted along one of his own beaches, in an attempt to organize efforts the American nation had essentially declared a spot on his east coast as the perfect spot rather than along the 'dingy little beaches and freezing ocean' as Alfred had described after testing out one of the possible spots Arthur had been considering. He'd ranted and chased after Alfred with his usual gusto, trying to explain that Alfred had actually gone to one of the beaches were the waters were almost always that cold, but the American had already messed around with his invitations and they were all in South Carolina now. Huffing again as he wondered if he should leave another call in case Alfred had forgotten the date again, they were all drawn to the sound of a pickup truck's engine heading over to their area. But that was not so unusual since the beach was also frequented by locals, although only a few stuck around longer than they should have in their curiosity and willingness to contribute with their own supplies of beer and snacks. What really had the others confused was when someone got out of the truck and headed over to them wearing a full astronaut's outfit, helmet and all. Arthur was left speechless when the person came and stopped in front of him, until the man pulled the helmet off and shot him a winning smile.

"Hey Iggy!" Alfred said in his loud tone. "I thought you said it was gonna be a costume party? I'm the only one in an awesome outfit." He said, not looking nearly as embarrassed as one might when they realize they'd walked into a situation like that. "Oh, hey, Feliks got the memo." He said as he gestured over to the Polish man who was dressed in a salmon-colored frock that looked like it was more appropriate on a woman than a man.

"No, Alfred, that's just Feliks…" Arthur said as he shook his head, unable to stop a few laughs from slipping out at the way Alfred made himself stand out again. "Why on earth are you dressed as an astronaut when you knew fully well that this was going to be a beach party? Aren't you worried about getting too hot in that thing?" He asked as Alfred and he headed toward the food table, Alfred shouting out his exuberant greetings as he went.

"Well, I had other ideas but when I went to pull out my old clothes, I kinda made a bit of mess. I don't clean out my closets nearly as often as I should." Alfred said with a sheepish shrug, trying to grab a hold of one of the bottles with the thick glove still on and making quite a show of it, Cuba laughing at Alfred's difficulties from where he stood nearby Matthew. The Canadian looked like he'd had a lump forming on his head from being mistaken by the Cuban man for his brother again before the other nation had felt sorry and had gotten some ice cream for the long-suffering Matthew. Arthur sighed as the show continued on, but took pity on Alfred and placed the bottle in the younger nation's hands, Alfred smiling and toasting to Arthur in thanks before taking a few swigs.

"By the time I realized it, the party had already started and the only ones that I remembered where I'd put were this one 'cuz its bulkier and I can't miss it in that closet…and my Revolutionary War uniform. Figured that one might not go over so well and it's just as hot." He said with another shrug, finishing up his drink. Arthur made an unimpressed noise at the idea of seeing Alfred in that uniform again, but Alfred didn't seem to notice in his usual inability to read the atmosphere. "Hey, how come you didn't dress in that angel getup of yours?" He asked but Arthur had given him a glare that shut him up. "Fine, fine…I'm gonna go talk to somebody not always in a grumpy mood. See ya Artie!" He said, the bottle slipping from his grip and smashing on the ground. Arthur shook his head as Ludwig was there almost immediately to berate Alfred for his lack of keeping things tidy. He could've sworn he heard the American retort with something about how things were different at Oktoberfest as he walked away, shaking his head as Ludwig started to defend his festivities as Gilbert made his way over too. Things got back to normal soon enough, although Alfred began to shed his costume sooner than Arthur would have thought. But the heat did seem to be getting to him since he'd lasted pretty long in the outfit, playing along with the smaller, children personifications who'd taken delight at his outfit. But now it seemed like they were enjoying watching him twist and turn as he struggled to get the outfit off, all the while regaling them with how amazing his space program was since they were the only ones to have gotten to the moon, Ivan rolling his eyes as Alfred predictably left out his people's feats in the 'race to the moon'. Ladonia had picked up Alfred's helmet and was trying to wear it, arms outstretched as he tried to walk with the large thing on his head, Sealand laughing along with Latvia at the sight with Lichtenstein giggling. Eventually Alfred managed to get himself out, earning more laughs from the children personifications at the fact that he was in nothing more than what looked like his underwear.

"Alfred, what are you doing?!" Arthur shouted as other personifications also noted, feeling mortified for the American who looked like he had no problem. "Put some clothes on, man!" He grumbled, Alfred looking at him with a questioning look on his face.

"But I don't have any other clothes with me. And I 'm covered. I'm not Francis." He said, holding out an arm as he indicated the Frenchman who'd been smirking at the strip show Alfred had been putting on as he shimmied out of the hot astronaut costume. "Besides, it's a beach!" He said with a smile, motioning for the children to follow after him as he grabbed his twin and headed for the water, Matthew shouting that he wasn't prepared to go in the water and squirming to have Alfred put him down. Tugging on Alfred's hair did the trick and Matthew was plopped unceremoniously on the beach just out of reach of the water as Alfred entered with a whoop as he enjoyed the refreshing water.

"Only America is fine with such demonstrations." Ivan said as he sat nearby where Arthur was sitting, a brandy in the British man's hand that Arthur felt he deserved at that point. He nodded along with Ivan, the Russian man doing his best to ignore the way his younger sister was sauntering about in her own swimwear in an attempt to gain his attention. "But I suppose party is not so bad, da? Well done Britian." He said, Arthur thanking the taller man. "Normally they are boring." Ivan said, Arthur blanching at that as he tried to rein in the barbs at the tip of his tongue about the slight to his people's long history of throwing 'spectacular' social get-togethers. But he decided to avoid an argument with Ivan as they enjoyed the shade, Ivan doing his best to hide his face when Belarus' antics were enough to make Francis pay attention.

"I vish she would stop all of that today. Is a nice day…." He said, Arthur's lips quirking up as Ivan was clearly using him as a shield of sorts from his sister. Although, he would also have to keep his guard up in case Natalya decided to switch tactics. The two sat in silence for a while, Arthur deciding to simply watch the others. The Italy brothers were up now, looking over to the other side of the beach where some more locals had gone to give the personifications' party their space. As usual, Arthur found himself shaking his head as the two tried to be smooth and talk with the girls as they attempted to understand their southern American accent. But it seemed they were at least amusing the girls since they'd yet to get themselves with a bucket to the face that they'd been using to make sandcastles with one another. As he looked back out to the water where Australia was attempting to use his boogie board with the tiny Wy, since surfing along this beach wasn't an option, he spotted Alfred climbing the rocks with Peter following in his wake. He sighed, excusing himself from Ivan's company much to the other's distress as Belarus promptly took his vacated seat, heading over to Finland and Sweden to let them know of what was happening. Or at least to tell Sweden since it seemed Finland and Denmark were engaged in some sort of drinking game at the moment while Iceland stood off to the side with Norway with an vaguely amused expression on his face as Norway tried to get his brother to enjoy himself too. He'd almost reached them when his breath caught as he watched Alfred finally realize he'd been followed and said something to Peter that caused the other to lose his grip. Arthur was sure they were all going to be in for some wailing from both Peter and Tino when Peter seemed to be headed for scraping along the rocks and into a belly-flop into the ocean. But he breathed a sigh of relief when Alfred's 'hero' skills appeared to kick in even before it happened and he'd wrapped an arm around the child's torso before he'd gone very far, lifting him up and onto himself.

* * *

Out on the rocks, Alfred let Peter hold onto him for a minute or two as he held him to his chest. He hadn't actually expected the smaller micro-nation to follow him when he'd told the other children he was going for a swim if anyone wanted to follow him. Latvia seemed to want to follow, but Estonia had pulled him off to the side as he reminded him about being in a similar situation as Alfred without a change of clothes. The other boy had looked longing out to the water before grumbling his compliance, setting off to change out of his clothes at least. Switzerland had swiftly intercepted Lichtenstein when it appeared she was going to follow Francis' lead and just disrobe completely out of her sundress to follow, Alfred chuckling at the overprotective manner of the Swiss man that had reminded him of Arthur when Alfred had been smaller. With Ladonia heading off for more snacks, he'd assumed Peter would've found himself something else to do, forgetting that the micro-nation did call himself ' _Sea_ land' for a reason and had followed him out without Alfred even noticing. But he'd luckily had the sense that something was up and had turned in time to call down to Peter that he shouldn't be following him on the rocks. Unfortunately, Peter had been startled and Alfred had let himself fall to reach him in time to catch him and safely pull the boy to him. They'd both been panting a little, Peter rising and falling in time with Alfred's chest.

"Thanks for the catch Mr. America." Peter said, Alfred laughing a couple of times as he ruffled the boy's wet hair.

"Anytime dude. But you shouldn't have followed." He said, Peter looking up to him with his mouth open to reply immediately, but Alfred cut him off. "I know, I know…I _did_ say you could follow but you probably should've asked one of your guardians if it was alright." He said, looking over to see Arthur standing on the beach and watching them. He gave a little wave that Arthur mimicked before the British man seemed to go about his business again.

"But I'm going to be my own nation one day. I can handle these things." Peter said defiantly, Alfred only laughing again and responding with his usual reply to keep up Sealand's aspirations. He'd recognized Lithuania as independent even when almost nobody else did, and Sealand reminded him a little of himself when he was struggling with making his own way. He knew that it probably was unlikely he'd reach 'nation' status anytime soon considering what his 'lands' were and how many people were a part of his 'country', but America was a land of dreams and he wasn't about to squash Peter's dream.

"Of course little dude. Safety first and all that." Alfred said as he brought his arms up to cushion his head as he found a spot on the rocks to comfortable recline in, Peter still on top of him. After a while, he began to worry that maybe he hadn't been as quick as he thought and Peter might've gotten hurt or was still afraid since the little boy hadn't moved off of him. "You okay?" He asked, receiving a nod in response. "Well then, what's up?" Alfred asked, gaining a little shrug from Peter.

"You'd laugh…." Peter said with his head pressed up again Alfred's chest. At Alfred's urging, the little boy blushed and fidgeted a little, Alfred tensing as he expected a hit to a sensitive area of his body. "Well…I told you I have a big heart and that's why I'll be recognized as a nation. And I will!" Peter said, gaining a little more confidence as he spoke and earning another chuckle from Alfred. "So, I thought I'd learn more about the other nations' hearts so I can figure out why no one recognizes me yet." He said, Alfred smirking as he picked up on what Sealand was doing. In some childish way it made sense, and with his own level of maturity Alfred could see the value in that, but had enough sense to go about learning how to be a nation through more reliable means in his own pursuit toward nationhood. But the fact that Peter had decided to listen to his heartbeat to compare with his own 'big heart' was both humorous and flattering at the same time.

"So…uh…" Alfred began with a smile on his face as he tried to tactfully approach the subject with Peter, "…what's mine tellin' ya?" He asked, curious to know what the little boy might say.

"Well, it sounds like…." Peter said, pressing his ear more firmly to Alfred's chest. "Not that different from Finland's, Sweden's or Latvia's…" He said as he finished squirming, much to Alfred's relief. "But yours seems really, um…thumpy…"He said, sounding unsure of the word he used to describe things to Alfred, the other personification only amused. "I mean, everybody else's doesn't beat as hard and strong. I guess it's supposed to be like, what makes you _you_ , huh?" He said, looking up to Alfred. The American personification chuckled at Peter's reply before sitting up and letting the boy sit in his lap.

"You're gonna give China a run for his money with all that wisdom you're spouting." He said as he fondly messed with Peter's hair, now almost dry from sitting out on the rocks. "That whole 'truth from the mouth of babes' thing really is true." He said, Peter's smacking Alfred's hand away.

"Hey! I'm not a babe…" He said with a bit of a scowl. "I'm just not big yet. But one day I'll be bigger than the British jerk and maybe even you!" He said, puffing his chest out a little at his statement, Alfred mockingly holding up his hands to placate the little boy.

"You know, that temper of yours is a lot like Arthur's." He said, Peter opening and closing his mouth as he tried to come up with a reply. "Come on. Why don't you head back and get something to munch on while you contemplate what new data you've got for your research." He said with a smile, Peter still unamused at being compared to his older brother. "Maybe you can even deduce something from the nation that came up with Sherlock Holmes. That'd make ol' Artie pay attention to ya'" He said as he climbed the rocks back down with Peter on his back.

"I'll show him" Peter said defiantly, letting go of Alfred as soon as they were back in the water. Before Alfred could say anything, Peter had taken off back to shore, Alfred shaking his head at the boy's talent for swimming that might put him and Gilbert to the test if he ever really did get a little bigger. He watched to make sure Peter reached shore before swimming off to another pile of rocks, lazily stroking as he turned on his back. A glint of sunlight off of something caught his eye, causing him to go underwater for a minute before resurfacing. He looked over to where he thought he saw something before but determined he was at a different angle that he wouldn't be able to see it again. A mischievous smirk came across his face as he thought about the history of this beach, remembering that pirates had frequented it for a while. Swimming over to where some of the other personifications were standing in the water tossing a ball back and forth, intercepting the ball before Antonio could and pummeling Gilbert in the face with it before tugging the Spanish man off to the side as the Prussian recovered.

"Hey, I got an idea and you should be a part of it." Alfred said with a childish smile in place as he imagined himself playing pirate. There had been several American pirates in history that had become notorious, but only Spain and Britain kept bringing up that part of their personalities – especially Britain.

"Ah…as much fun as I'm sure it would be amigo, I'm not sure…" Antonio said as he tried to careful disentangle himself from one of the American's usual schemes that might end with him feeling the brunt of the American's force from sheer whiplash alone from being around him.

"No, no, it'll be great! Remember how there used to be pirates around here?" Alfred said, nearly laughing aloud again as he saw his ruse had completely gotten the other's attention. "Well, there's an old tale about there being treasure hidden among the rocks around here 'cuz there's so many good hiding places. And the tide goes in and out here pretty quickly in case you hadn't noticed." Alfred said, Antonio nodding but still with a wary look. Gilbert was grumbling in the background about someone trying to mess with his awesome looks, commenting that his face was just too awesome that it deflated the ball they'd been tossing around – probably the only reason he hadn't tossed it immediately back at the American man as he left to go get a replacement.

"Si Alfred, but what are you…." Antonio began before a look of understanding crossed his face. "I see. You're wanting to look for buried treasure here. No thanks, Alfred, but I'll stick with the fiesta going on here." He said with a chuckle. "The senioritas are mucho…" He began but Alfred pulled him along with him out toward the ocean.

"No dude. I already sort of found something. I just need a little help from an expert pirate." He said with a wide grin. "And it'd make Arthur's eyebrow do that twitchy thing when he gets all frustrated and embarrassed if we find it first and beat him at being pirates. At least, just for today…" He said pleadingly, seeing his argument persuading the Spanish man at the idea Alfred was presenting.

"Oh…Si. I'll go along with you for a little while, in case you might actually be onto something." He said, Alfred laughing and holding up a hand for a high five. Seeing the other man was going to continue holding up his hand, Antonio sighed and returned the gesture, prompting Alfred to cheerfully motion for the other man to follow where he estimated he'd last seen the object. Antonio called out to Romano as he and Alfred passed that he was going for a swim with Alfred and not to do anything he wouldn't do, the southern Italian's face going a little red as he dismissively waved to the other man while attempting to keep up his flirting with a brunette on the beach.

The two swam out for a while, Antonio beginning to wonder if Alfred had been leading him on another misadventure when Alfred pointed out something to him. Following the other's gaze, Antonio saw a small opening in one of the larger rock forms that looked like an entrance to a cavern. He gestured for Alfred to follow him, the two approaching the opening and out of sight of the party far off on the beach.

"Is this a good idea?" Alfred asked as they swam in, the water gradually reducing so that they were standing only waist-deep in the ocean as they walked through the passage.

"Do not worry so much Alfred. Is all part of being a pirate." Antonio said with a laugh, imagining his days doing something very similar as he went to hide a cache of items to keep away from Britain long enough to return for them. This cavern would have been perfect for the job, the piece of metal that had caught Alfred's attention indicating that there had been some attempt at marking the spot as the piece looked to have been a part of an old gun piece left behind by some miracle of the ocean. "But do not concern yourself too much. The tide is not about to come back in just yet." He said, Alfred huffing as the comment didn't exactly comfort him. But the fact that there was some sunlight drifting through openings in the rock made the situation a little better. However, spotting the sandy outcrop within the cavern made him even more excited, pushing past Antonio to reach it.

"Whoa, so cool…" Alfred said as he looked around. "Ya' think it really is buried under this?" He asked, climbing onto the outcrop. Antonio shrugged as he followed the excited American personification, inspecting the area to see if any decent pirate would've considered the area suitable for the task.

"Alfred, it has been over a century since any pirate like the one you are thinking of, would have stored his booty in here." Antonio said, ignoring the way Alfred snickered at the term 'booty'. "The ocean probably would have brought more sand from the sea floor in here since then. So yes, 'buried treasure' is probably the case." He said, the two men looking around and occasionally sifting through some sand. Alfred began to dig with his hands, Antonio rolling his eyes at the haphazard way Alfred was conducting his excavation. He was about to suggest they just head back after the two had spent some time in the cavern exploring when a triumphant 'AHA!' from Alfred at the bottom of his hole piqued Antonio's curiosity. Looking down at the other personification, Antonio's eyes widened at the sheer dumb luck of the American.

Alfred grinned up at him with a small chest in his hands, success practically beaming off of him as he held it up to Antonio. The other man took it from Alfred's grip and set it beside him before reaching down to help Alfred climb out. Alfred looked every bit the child Arthur insisted on calling him with the expression of excitement all over his face at the discovery of this treasure chest. "Come on. Let's open it up!" Alfred said, Antonio motioning for Alfred to be patient as he inspected the small chest. As he slowly looked it over to avoid breaking it when he opened it, Alfred was getting more and more anxious with waiting. But Antonio seemed to be enjoying himself, his green eyes appearing to sparkle with old memories he was reliving as he handled their prize. But his reverie was broken when Alfred whined again for him to just open the chest, Antonio shaking his head and sighing at the other's impatience. Carefully, Antonio creaked open the lid once the heavy lock had been more or less crushed in an eager Alfred's hands. Antonio smiled as he saw the contents, several bottles tucked away inside along with a handful of coins.

"Huh…not exactly what I was expectin'" Alfred said as he pulled out one of the bottles to look over, holding it up in their limited light. "Kinda thought pirates buried in their treasure chests, you know, _treasure_ …" He said with a bit of confusion in his voice.

"Si Alfred, pirates of that time were known for taking a liking to shinier things, but a pirate is a pirate." Antonio said with a smirk that had Alfred feeling a little cautious. "They preferred money in any shape or form and would deal in whatever made them that money – rum included." He said as he too inspected one of the bottles. Once of them had what looked like papers stuffed inside for safe keeping, both of them curious to know what was on those papers. "There was a time when rum was considered a contraband of sorts and so it's not so surprising that there might have been a stash close enough to the shore for whatever pirate who thought he was being clever to return to at a later time. I'm guessing things did not work out so well…" Antonio said, picking up one of the doubloons in the chest with a far-off look on his face.

"Well, we should still head back to shore with our treasure. Don't worry – you'll get your finder's fee." Alfred said as he began to place the bottles back into the chest as carefully as he could. Antonio rolled his eyes at the typical American remark, especially since it seemed like this chest might have belonged to a Spanish pirate, or one of Spanish-descent based on the coins in the box. But he simply sighed and helped Alfred, knowing that since it was on Alfred's land it technically needed to stay with him.

"Perhaps, not just yet amigo. Look." Antonio said, pointing over to the entrance they'd used. "The tide had come in again. We must have been in here longer than I thought." He said, sitting back down on the sand to make himself comfortable. Alfred sighed but copied the other's moves, knowing that they'd have to wait a while for the tide to start to go out again to be able to safely leave the cavern with the chest.

"So..uh….wanna tell me about some of your pirate exploits?" Alfred said as he turned to look at a relaxing Antonio. The Spanish personification cracked open one eye to look over at Alfred curiously.

"Why have you not asked your brother?" Antonio said, Alfred making a face in response to both the question and the fact that the other was so open with still calling he and Arthur brothers. "I am sure Arthur would be more than happy to…"

"Yeah, he's definitely more than happy to boast about how tough he was as a pirate." Alfred said with a roll of his eyes. "I mean, I enjoyed hearing about them but if I ask now and don't do it just the right way, it sounds either like an ego trip or a lament. Gotta be careful with that, but Artie can tell a good story." He said with a shrug, playing with the straps on the chest. "You've got to have at least _one_ good story, right?" Alfred asked, smirking when it was apparent Antonio was doing his best to hold off his own desire to tell about his own exploits. The last childish plea was enough to crack the barely-there resistance, Antonio launching into accounts of his own days as a pirate, providing his own perspective to the stories Alfred had heard only from Arthur's point of view. There were a few times when Antonio would get worked up enough to forget to speak in English, but Alfred could make out the majority of what he was saying from his own large Spanish-speaking population. But there were times when Alfred had to ask Antonio to repeat himself in English, the other man huffing a little in frustration but obliging the American personification.

* * *

Eventually, the entrance and only exit had opened up again, the two men making their way back out of the rocks with the intent to head back to shore. Once out, they noticed the party looked to have broken up and they could see a few people running along the beach.

"What's goin' on over there?" Alfred asked as he and Antonio skirted alongside the rocks to better carry the chest safely back to land. "Thought Iggy had the whole day planned out for this thing…" He said, the other commenting that perhaps it was nothing or just one of the usual fights that tends to break out and put things on hold for a little while. Alfred made a noise of agreement before seeing some difficulty in their path. They redirected and ended up a little ways down the beach, the two laughing at their discovery as they leisurely walked back to the party.

"I'm guessing Romano and Feliciano must've headed out for something more… _exciting_ ….than Britain's party." Antonio said with a smirk as he noticed the Italian boys were no longer attempting to woo the girls who were also no longer on the beach. Alfred shook his head, mumbling something about accents making all the difference for some girls while Antonio only smirked to him. His look was rewarded by Alfred groaning for the other man to shut up, earning a laugh from the other man. Antonio was mid-laugh when the two of them heard shouts coming from the party, making them stop to see what was going on. Turning to look at each other to figure out what was up, Antonio was practically tackled as another personification ran up to him and wasn't able to stop quite in time to avoid running into him.

Dropping his grip on the chest, Alfred recovered and caught it as he watched the two disentangle themselves. "Romano?" Antonio asked, smile on his face at having one of his dreams seems to play out when the boy he'd grown attached to returned the open affection. "Romano, I am happy to see you as well." He said, hugging the southern Italian before Romano had the chance to realize he'd shown any concern for his former boss. Then again, he'd given Antonio an old, rusty blade he'd found as a child and it had made the other happier than he'd expected to receive anything as a gift.

"Oh, let go, let go…" Romano said with wide eyes as he suddenly remembered that there were other personifications watching. Alfred laughed as he watched Antonio drop the pirate traits he'd let show as they'd searched and recovered the chest, instead only smiling in mirth as he held onto Romano, spouting out how he knew the other always cared. Caught up in watching them, Alfred wasn't prepared for the smack to the back of his head.

"Ow!" He said, nearly dropping the chest as he spun around to face an angry-looking Arthur. "What was that for? I didn't do anything…" He said, shifting the chest to hold under one arm as he rubbed the back of his head with the other.

"You…" Arthur said, Alfred bracing for the rant that usually followed when Arthur seemed to struggle to get the first word out. "Do you have any idea how worried we all were?" He asked, confusing Alfred even more, the American replying with an unintelligent 'huh?' as he stared as his former caretaker.

"You said you were going for a swim over an hour ago." Romano said, Antonio squeezing him tighter and commenting that he knew Romano had been listening even as he flirted with a pretty woman. Alfred thought back to what it would have looked like to Gilbert and the others as he'd pulled Antonio away and out toward open water.

"Oh…." Alfred said with a wince as he looked back to Arthur, the other man standing with his arms crossed in a stance Alfred had come to be familiar with over the years. "Hey! I didn't know we'd spend so much time exploring!" Alfred said before his eyes widened and he held up the chest for Arthur to see. "Look at what Antonio and I found! Buried treasure! I asked him to come along 'cuz I needed some pirating skills." He said, Arthur's right eyebrow beginning to twitch as Alfred had expected and prompting Alfred to laugh at the other's look.

"You are such a child! You had everybody worried you and Antonio had drowned!" Arthur said, smacking Alfred wherever he could as the American dodged as many blows as he could while holding the chest firmly to him. "We were just about to call your coast guard to go look for you! Do you have any idea what this did to Matthew? Or Kiku or Peter or anyone else?" Arthur shouted, getting red in the face.

"Okay, okay, I get it. Sheesh, I told you I didn't think it would take that long or that Romano'd get so jumpy." Alfred said as Arthur stopped trying to hit Alfred. "But thanks for thinkin' of us. Knew you cared…" He said, taking off on a run when Arthur started to chase him. Antonio called after for him to be careful, Alfred laughing as he reached the tables that were set up and placed the chest down on one of them. The Spanish and Italian personifications quickly followed, other personifications crowding around to see what Alfred had brought. As soon as Antonio was beside him, Alfred opened the lid to a mix of reactions, some of which were similar to his own when they'd first opened the chest.

"Oh, it's full of rum." Arthur said with a laugh as he grabbed a bottle despite Antonio's attempts to keep him from grabbing anything out of the chest. "Ha ha ha…I remember hiding a few away myself." Arthur said as he handed the bottle back.

"Nah, it ain't _all_ rum." Alfred said, pulling out a few more bottles and making room for some of the smaller personifications to get a look at what he and Antonio were displaying. He knew there was probably a better and more archaeologically pertinent way of handling the materials, but he couldn't contain his enthusiasm. Holding up one bottle, he attempted to read the faded writing on it but gave up and handed it to Arthur. The British man held off from an insult as his own curiosity got the better of him, inspecting it.

"This looks like it might be French but it's too faded…" Arthur said, the bottle promptly plucked out of his hands by Francis, the other man's sudden appearance causing Arthur to growl a little as the Frenchman 'oohed and ahhed' at the bottle, pronouncing it to be wine before looking into the chest with more interest than before.

"Dude, come on." Alfred said as Francis stood between him and Antonio, still not wearing at least underwear like Alfred had on. "Put some clothes on first. This is North America, not Europe – I'm not as fond of those nudey beaches like you." He said, Kiku and Yao seen out of the corner of Alfred's eyes to be nodding in agreement. But Francis merely scoffed before pulling out another bottle that looked similar to the one he'd grabbed from Arthur.

"Oh, relax mon cher." Francis said as he inspected the bottles. "Besides, you should have come to me if you were looking for an authentic pirate experience, hon hon hon." He said, Antonio narrowing his eyes while Arthur scoffed. "What? Have you all forgotten the many _French_ pirates that visited these waters? The others could not compare to them." He said, Alfred laughing as Antonio, Arthur and Francis seemed to begin to talk all at once about their countrymen's exploits along the coastal waters of Alfred's lands, although there were plenty more stories about the Caribbean than where they were currently set up to enjoy the day. Reaching through the three arguing men, Alfred pulled out the bottle with the papers in it, uncorking it and unfurling it for him and some of the children personifications that were level with the table to read.

"Hey Iggy, what's this?" Alfred asked, gaining the older nation's attention as he held out the papers. "Most of these are in English but there are some other things that I can't figure out." He said, Arthur predictably holding himself a little straighter at having Alfred call to _him_ to answer something. He took the papers and scanned them.

"Oh, these are counterfeit papers for the rum-running that this pirate must've been up to. Looks like he was heading to 'Canada West'." He said as he continued to read the papers with a small smile on his face, holding them away from Francis who'd tried to get them while Antonio looked over the handle of doubloons that this unknown pirate probably came into by trading some of his stock to another captain. But at the destination Arthur had read off, Alfred looked over to his brother, Matthew looking surprisingly sheepish.

"Matt?" Alfred asked around a laugh. "There somethin' you been hiding?" He asked as his brother fidgeted a little under the attention of so many nations when he was so often overlooked.

"Ah, well…" Matthew said, Alfred chuckling a little. "Well, there were plenty of rum-runners who were smuggling the drink to parts of your lands. I may have had a _little_ bit at the time…he he" Matthew said with a flush, Cuba smacking him on the back at this unexpected piece of information about the 'polite' Canadian. "It was only for a little while though, eh." He said, Alfred laughing as hard as Cuba at his brother's nervousness. It wasn't like he hadn't known about some pirates making their way up to his brother, but to have record of it as one of the more frequented stops made it funnier for the American. Matthew was blushing incredibly hard at that point, Francis feeling compelled to come to the other's 'rescue' as he suggested sharing some of the spoils that had been heading to his former colony. Francis laughed as Matthew continued to try and hide his face, but Francis had already grabbed one of the wine bottles and looked ready to open it.

"Hey wait!" Alfred said suddenly. "Shouldn't we, you know, bring these to a museum or something?" He said with a thoughtful look on his face as he tried to do the right thing.

"Mon ami, the museum will still want the bottles. They do not have use for the contents inside." Francis said with a smile. "We are simply making studying them easier for the archaeologists." He said, popping open the bottle before Alfred could protest anymore. "We'll bring them to the nearest museum later. After all…" Francis said as he grabbed a couple of glasses from the table that were not the red solo cups that Alfred had insisted on bringing, and pouring the wine with a satisfied look on his face. "…wine only gets better with age." He said, taking a sip and savoring the flavor before handing the other to Matthew. The Canadian took the offered glass and shrugged to his brother, not much more either could do to preserve the historical find. Alfred returned the shrug, Matthew taking that as his cue to enjoy the long-awaited wine.

Antonio pulled out a bottle of rum and looked it over with a smirk on his face that Alfred felt he might need to be concerned about. "I agree with Francis, amigos. Partaking in one bottle should be considered part of our finder's fee, si?" He asked with a laugh as he handed it to Arthur. The British man looked as torn as Alfred before he smirked too, his eyes sharing the same edge as Antonio's as he opened the rum bottle."It's no tequila, but it'll do." Antonio said after Arthur had taken a swig and handed it to Antonio for a sip.

Alfred sighed but realized he should've known not to have expected too much otherwise by asking for a pirate experience. He guessed that it was like Peter had said, Alfred briefly wondering if he'd safely gotten to Sweden since Finland was likely inebriated from dealing with Denmark. There were some things that were as natural and involuntary as a heartbeat that made one who they were. And it would seem that although those three had moved on, there would always be a little bit of that rogue, tough pirate spirit that enjoyed a little rum and adventure now and then.


End file.
